Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Should America fight more like Iran? Pentagon official raises eyebrows
• French envoy Vedrine pushes new UN veto rules
• PLO says against Syrian army drive to regain Yarmouk camp from militants
• Yemen rebels capture city, Iran condemns Saudi air campaign
• Iraqis do not want to be 'puppets' of Iran: US
• Iran calls nuclear deal into question
• French network's broadcasts hacked by group claiming IS ties
• Worst VA health care wait times are in the South
• U.S., allies conduct 7 air strikes in Syria, 12 in Iraq: military
• UN's Ban wants action to prevent Syria camp 'massacre'
• Islamic State assault was catalyst for Iraqi unity, Biden says
• French TV station restarts after 'unprecedented' jihadist hack
• U.S. man charged with trying to support Islamic State
• Biden claims momentum in fight against IS in Iraq
• Inspirational Cycling Event Helps Injured Service Members Heal
• Former RI governor considering 2016 campaign
• US Embassy guard in Qatar assaulted, attacker in custody
• Investors want BG deal to trigger change at Shell
• Algerian army kills four militants east of Algiers: ministry
• French broadcaster TV5Monde hit by Islamist hackers
• Armed police watch as soldiers return to guard Ottawa memorial
• Statue row blots Mandela's post-apartheid vision for South Africa
• US man arrested for allegedly supporting IS group
• The Evolution of Design
• Hail to the Glorious Return of Sad-Sack Louie
• Sweden to join US-led coalition against Islamic State
• Czech government plans to register citizens for military service
• Kansas's Failed Experiment
• Islamic world risks 'disintegration': Erdogan
• Vin Diesel in negotiations for "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk"
• Soccer-Bhutan leap 46 places in FIFA rankings, Belgium go third
• French network's channels hacked by group claiming IS ties
• Mortar fire kills 11 civilians in Egypt's Sinai
• Red Cross demands access to Islamic State-held Yarmouk camp in Syria
• Jury's next decision: Life or death for Boston bomber?
• Sweden to send troops to Iraq to support fight against Islamic State
• France's TV5Monde Taken Off Air by Pro-ISIS Hackers
• Throwback Thursday: When Brian Williams Was Editor of His High School Newspaper
• A Long-Anticipated Revelation Reinvigorates The Americans

Should America fight more like Iran? Pentagon official raises eyebrows Posted: 09 Apr 2015 04:46 PM PDT The American military must become better at operating in a "gray zone" of war, one that sometimes calls for using "deception, infiltration, and persistent denial," the Pentagon's No. 2 official said in a little-noticed speech this week. These are the sort of tactics that Russia has been using in Crimea and Ukraine, Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work noted Wednesday in remarks at a strategy conference at the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pa. America's adversaries today use "agents, paramilitaries, deception, infiltration, and persistent denial – staying within that so-called 'gray zone,' " he told assembled officers. Is America's second most senior civilian in the Pentagon suggesting that the country should … play dirty?

French envoy Vedrine pushes new UN veto rules Posted: 09 Apr 2015 03:11 PM PDT France dispatched ex-foreign minister Hubert Vedrine this week on a fact-finding mission to push for new rules limiting veto use by the UN's five powers. France launched an initiative in September to persuade the other four Security Council permanent members -- Britain, China, Russia and the United States -- to refrain from using their veto power when action is required to address a mass atrocity. The idea was welcomed by some 70 non-veto-wielding countries at the United Nations, but discussions on limiting use of the veto have entered complicated terrain with members of the so-called P5. Russia and China have bristled at the idea of restricting their veto power, but Britain and the United States have shown more openness to the idea.

PLO says against Syrian army drive to regain Yarmouk camp from militants Posted: 09 Apr 2015 02:50 PM PDT By Marwan Maqdisi DAMASCUS (Reuters) - The PLO said on Thursday it refused to be drawn into supporting any military offensive in the war-battered Yarmouk camp on the outskirts of Damascus, backing away from earlier comments by one of its members that lent support to Syrian army action against insurgents there. The radical Islamist group Islamic State, which rules swathes of Syria and Iraq, seized almost all of Yarmouk in recent days, brushing aside local militia opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Earlier, Ahmad Majdalani, a member of its executive committee who was sent by the PLO leadership to Damascus to discuss the crisis with the government, said he fully endorsed a Syrian military offensive to regain control of the camp.

Yemen rebels capture city, Iran condemns Saudi air campaign Posted: 09 Apr 2015 02:42 PM PDT SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Shiite rebels and allied troops overran the capital of an oil-rich Yemeni province in a heavily Sunni area on Thursday, making significant territorial gains despite Saudi-led airstrikes, now entering their third week.

Iraqis do not want to be 'puppets' of Iran: US Posted: 09 Apr 2015 02:30 PM PDT US Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that Iraqi leaders have asserted the country's sovereignty in their war against jihadists and do not want to be "puppets" of Iran or other outside powers. In last month's battle over the town of Tikrit, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had insisted that forces fighting the Islamic State group must be under Baghdad's authority and not answer to neighboring Iran, Biden said. The vice president said media coverage had initially portrayed Shiite militias backed by Iran as "running the show" in the Tikrit offensive.

Iran calls nuclear deal into question Posted: 09 Apr 2015 02:10 PM PDT Iran's leaders plunged the hard-won framework accord on their nuclear program into doubt on Thursday, warning they may not sign a final deal and would demand immediate sanctions relief. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's response to last week's outline deal had been keenly awaited, and came as a blow to supporters of the plan to rein in Tehran's nuclear ambitions. "What has been done so far does not guarantee an agreement, nor its contents, nor even that the negotiations will continue," said Khamenei, who has the final word on all matters of state. This drew a rebuke from the United States, one of the six world powers negotiating with Iran on the accord, which warned sanctions relief would be a gradual process once the deal was done.

French network's broadcasts hacked by group claiming IS ties Posted: 09 Apr 2015 02:03 PM PDT PARIS (AP) — Hackers claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group simultaneously blacked out 11 channels of a French global TV network and took over its website and social media accounts on Thursday, in what appeared to be the most ambitious media attack so far by the extremist group.

Worst VA health care wait times are in the South Posted: 09 Apr 2015 01:57 PM PDT The chronic delays plaguing the Veterans Affairs health system are concentrated in a fraction of its hospitals and clinics — many of them in the South — that have done far worse than others in delivering ...

U.S., allies conduct 7 air strikes in Syria, 12 in Iraq: military Posted: 09 Apr 2015 12:47 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-led forces targeted Islamic State militants in Syria with seven air strikes from Wednesday to Thursday morning, with Canada taking part in the strikes for the first time, the U.S. military said on Thursday. Forces hit Islamic State vehicles, a garrison, and fighting positions near Al Hasakah, Ar Raqqah and Kobani, according to a statement. In Iraq 12 air strikes over the same period hit Islamic Sate tactical units, a tunnel system, buildings and other targets near Bayji, Mosul, Sinjar and Tal Afar, the statement said. ...

UN's Ban wants action to prevent Syria camp 'massacre' Posted: 09 Apr 2015 12:41 PM PDT UN chief Ban Ki-moon called Thursday for action to prevent a massacre at Syria's Yarmuk refugee camp after Islamic State group jihadists, known for their brutality, overran much of it. His appeal came as 14 Palestinian factions meeting in Damascus said they would back a joint military operation with Syrian government forces against the jihadists. Syria's Reconciliation Minister Ali Haidar on Wednesday said the crisis required a military operation to expel IS from the camp in southern Damascus.

Islamic State assault was catalyst for Iraqi unity, Biden says Posted: 09 Apr 2015 12:04 PM PDT By Doina Chiacu WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Islamic State's assault on northern Iraq last summer galvanized the country's rival factions to fight a common enemy and halt the militant group's momentum, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Thursday. In an upbeat assessment before a White House meeting next week between U.S. President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, Biden said Iraq has gained the upper hand against the radical Sunni group since it seized territory in Iraq and Syria and declared a "caliphate" eight months ago. At that time, the world saw the Iraqi army "melt away," Iraqi government assets seized and brutal acts committed in Islamic State-controlled territory, Biden said. Doomsday scenarios of Iraq being split apart persist, when in fact "ISIL's momentum in Iraq has halted and in many places had been flat out reversed," he said, using an acronym for the group.

French TV station restarts after 'unprecedented' jihadist hack Posted: 09 Apr 2015 11:51 AM PDT France's TV5Monde television channel resumed full operations Thursday, 18 hours after an "unprecedented" hack by self-proclaimed Islamic State militants, who shut down transmissions and hijacked its website and social networks. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said: "There are a lot of elements that suggest that a terrorist act" was to blame for the shutdown at the Paris-based station, whose programming is broadcast to an international audience worldwide. "Their goal was maybe to broadcast their message on our airwaves and not only social networks and our website," he added subsequently on BFMTV. By seizing the IT system, they were able to black out the TV channels for several hours.

U.S. man charged with trying to support Islamic State Posted: 09 Apr 2015 11:43 AM PDT By Lindsay Dunsmuir and Mary Reardon WASHINGTON/MADISON, Wis. (Reuters) - An American man has been charged with trying to provide support for the Islamic State militant group, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. Joshua Ray Van Haften, 34, of Madison, Wisconsin, intended to travel to Iraq or Syria to join the group, also known by the acronyms ISIL and ISIS, prosecutors said in a statement. Van Haften was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Wednesday after arriving on a flight from Turkey.

Biden claims momentum in fight against IS in Iraq Posted: 09 Apr 2015 11:14 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden is setting the stage for the Iraqi prime minister's visit to Washington by claiming momentum in the battle against Islamic State militants.

Inspirational Cycling Event Helps Injured Service Members Heal Posted: 09 Apr 2015 11:08 AM PDT ATLANTA, April 9, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) Soldier Ride® will arrive in Atlanta on April 23 for a three-day rehabilitative cycling event. Soldier Ride brings injured veterans from across the country together for a long weekend focused on physical health and wellness, camaraderie, and healing. The wheels are set in motion with a bike fitting where injured service members are fit with adaptive equipment on April 23 at the Evergreen Marriott Conference Center.

Former RI governor considering 2016 campaign Posted: 09 Apr 2015 11:06 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, who has often confounded the political establishment, said Thursday he had formed an exploratory committee to consider a Democratic presidential campaign and quickly labeled Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2002 vote to authorize the Iraq war a mistake.

US Embassy guard in Qatar assaulted, attacker in custody Posted: 09 Apr 2015 10:20 AM PDT DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The U.S. State Department says an embassy guard in Qatar has been lightly wounded in an assault.

Investors want BG deal to trigger change at Shell Posted: 09 Apr 2015 10:15 AM PDT By Dmitry Zhdannikov LONDON (Reuters) - When it comes to forecasting the oil price, big companies play their cards very close to their chests. The beauty of the deal and the upside, though, won't be in the bold bet turning good, say investors and analysts as they urge Shell to use the deal as a opportunity to review its portfolio and geography.

Algerian army kills four militants east of Algiers: ministry Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:51 AM PDT ALGIERS (Reuters) - The Algerian army has killed four suspected Islamist militants east of the capital Algiers, the defense ministry said on Thursday, in an operation that seized weapons and explosives including a suicide bomb belt. The operation took place early on Thursday morning in the Boumerdès area, the ministry said in a statement issued via the state APS news agency. ...

French broadcaster TV5Monde hit by Islamist hackers Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:40 AM PDT Hackers claiming to be supporters of Islamic State knocked out channels of French public television station TV5Monde and posted material on its social media feeds to protest against French military action in Iraq. President Francois Hollande's government branded the cyber attacks, which started late on Wednesday, a "vile and cowardly" affront to freedom of expression and began an investigation, promising to track down those responsible. Yves Bigot, head of the TV5Monde station, said the assault caused its 11 channels to go temporarily off air and also hit its websites. The network broadcasts news and entertainment programs in French on 11 channels around the world, and is 49 percent owned by state-backed broadcaster France Televisions.

Armed police watch as soldiers return to guard Ottawa memorial Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:34 AM PDT Soldiers returned to their posts at Canada's National War Memorial on Thursday for the first time since a shocking fatal attack last October, but the ceremonial guards are now protected by armed police and separated from the public. The defense ministry is paying police C$425,000 ($340,000) this year to provide security at the memorial, where a convert to Islam shot a soldier dead on Oct. 22. Two soldiers, who carry unloaded rifles, normally stand on guard at the memorial in central Ottawa each year from April 9 to Nov. 10. On Thursday, two armed police officers also stood close by the gray stone memorial in central Ottawa, watching as a handful of tourists braved freezing temperatures to take photos.

Statue row blots Mandela's post-apartheid vision for South Africa Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:32 AM PDT By Wendell Roelf CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa's University of Cape Town removed a statue of British imperialist Cecil Rhodes on Thursday to cheers from students, a symbolic move that exposes persistent racial divides two decades after the end of apartheid. The statue at the university, one of Africa's top academic institutions, has been covered up for the past few weeks as both white and black students regularly marched past with #Rhodesmustfall placards calling for its removal. They believe it is a symbol of the racism against blacks that prevails in South Africa two decades after the end of oppressive white-minority rule.

US man arrested for allegedly supporting IS group Posted: 09 Apr 2015 08:57 AM PDT A Wisconsin man has been charged with providing support to Islamic State jihadists in Iraq and Syria, where he allegedly planned to join the extremist group, the Justice Department said Thursday. Joshua Ray Van Haften, 34, of Madison, Wisconsin, was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare airport as he returned from Turkey on Wednesday. He left the United States on August 26, 2014 for Istanbul, according to a Justice Department statement. Van Haften is charged with "attempting to provide material support and resources, namely himself as personnel, to a foreign terrorist organization," the statement said.

The Evolution of Design Posted: 09 Apr 2015 08:00 AM PDT The World History of Design (Bloomsbury), divided into three volumes, begins with the pre-hominids and ends—at least, the second volume, available April 23, does—with World War II. Its author, Victor Margolin, the professor emeritus of design history at the University of Illinois, Chicago, has intersected the design disciplines to map a unique history from a number of international events and disparate personae. The book is unique for its inclusivity, which reaches far beyond Western design research's usual orbit.

Hail to the Glorious Return of Sad-Sack Louie Posted: 09 Apr 2015 07:05 AM PDT The Emmy-nominated series on FX has consistently been one of the best on television since it debuted in 2010, and the opening episodes of its fifth season (premiering Thursday at 10:30 p.m.) should provoke many a laugh. Louis C.K. is an energetic and commanding presence on stage, and remains the undisputed king of stand-up comedy, but on screen he's always funniest as a sad sack, mumbling quietly as his children pester him, or shyly enduring taunts from his single-parent friend Pamela (played by Pamela Adlon), who doesn't let up her tormenting this season even though she and Louie have become romantically involved. He's even developed as a physical comedian: Some of the funniest moments in the fifth season come from him stumbling silently around and reacting with horror or confusion at whatever strange situation he finds himself in next. Following this grand arc came a look at Louie's childhood involvement with a local criminal (played by Jeremy Renner) and then his romantic overtures to Pamela, which took three episodes for her to accept.

Sweden to join US-led coalition against Islamic State Posted: 09 Apr 2015 04:30 AM PDT Sweden will send up to 120 troops to northern Iraq to train Iraqi and Kurdish fighters as part of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group, foreign minister Margot Wallstroem said Thursday. "In the first stage 35 soldiers will take part in the mission but the number can rise to 120," Wallstroem told news agency TT. She added that the Swedish troops will provide "military advice and training... not combat units" and that they will focus on Kurdish peshmerga forces. The international coalition fighting IS in northern Iraq -- which includes Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Finland -- has been in place since August and has carried out airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.

Czech government plans to register citizens for military service Posted: 09 Apr 2015 04:29 AM PDT The Czech government plans to create a register of citizens who could be called up for military service, in response to growing concerns over threats from Islamic State and insecurity in Ukraine, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said on Thursday. Sobotka said the move would not amount to the reintroduction of compulsory military service, but would be a precaution. Other NATO members and countries across central and eastern Europe, worried about the military and political crisis in Ukraine, have made moves to bolster defenses in recent months after years of massive military spending cuts. "This is a reaction to the worsening of the overall security situation in the past year ... not only in Ukraine, but also in the Middle East in connection with Islamic State," the prime minister said.

Kansas's Failed Experiment Posted: 09 Apr 2015 04:00 AM PDT Surviving a tough reelection race, as Sam Brownback did in Kansas last year, can often be a cleansing experience for a governor. After all, Brownback managed to earn a fresh nod of support from voters despite a messy first term marked by a fiscal embarrassment of his own making. Yet three months later, the humbling in the heartland goes on, much to the frustration of a Republican governor and one-time presidential contender who hoped to make Kansas the national emblem of conservative governance. Kansas's budget has for months resembled a wallet with a hole in it—every time the state's bookkeepers peek inside, they find less money than the government thought would be there.

Islamic world risks 'disintegration': Erdogan Posted: 09 Apr 2015 03:42 AM PDT The Islamic world is at risk of "disintegration" due to the current conflicts in the region between the Sunni and Shiite strands of the Muslim faith, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in comments published Thursday. Erdogan, who is increasingly touting himself as a leader of the Muslim world, said he would take steps to calm the tensions by meeting Islamic leaders. The Turkish president, a devout Sunni Muslim, made the comments in a closed briefing to Turkish reporters while returning on his visit to Shiite Iran earlier this week. "At this moment the Islamic world is facing the risk of disintegration," Erdogan was quoted as saying by Turkish dailies including Hurriyet and Sabah.

Vin Diesel in negotiations for "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" Posted: 09 Apr 2015 03:32 AM PDT Vin Diesel and Chris Tucker are said to be in negotiations to join the cast of "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk".

Soccer-Bhutan leap 46 places in FIFA rankings, Belgium go third Posted: 09 Apr 2015 03:04 AM PDT (Adds top 10 rankings) April 9 (Reuters) - Bhutan jumped 46 places from the foot of the FIFA rankings to 163rd on Thursday after recording their first ever World Cup qualifying victories. The Himalayan nation beat Sri Lanka 1-0 in Colombo and 2-1 in Thimphu last month to advance to the second round of Asian qualifying and, after reaching their highest ranking, will be among the fourth seeds for Tuesday's draw. Anguilla replaced Bhutan as FIFA's 209th and lowest ranked international side after losing 8-0 on aggregate to Nicaragua in the first round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying last month. ...

French network's channels hacked by group claiming IS ties Posted: 09 Apr 2015 02:50 AM PDT Hackers claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group seized control of a French television network, simultaneously blacking out 11 channels and taking over the network's website and social media accounts. ...

Mortar fire kills 11 civilians in Egypt's Sinai Posted: 09 Apr 2015 02:16 AM PDT Mortar fire has killed 11 civilians -- all but one of them women and children -- in Egypt's North Sinai, where the government is battling an Islamist insurgency, police and medics said Thursday. Sinai is a hotbed of a jihadist group once known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which changed its named to Sinai Province after pledging allegiance last year to the Islamic State (IS) group. In a separate incident in the same area, a roadside bomb targeting an armoured personnel carrier killed two police and wounded three, police said.

Red Cross demands access to Islamic State-held Yarmouk camp in Syria Posted: 09 Apr 2015 02:15 AM PDT The International Committee of the Red Cross called on Thursday for immediate access to a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria which has largely been seized by Islamic State and where 18,000 people are caught up in fighting. The independent aid agency said that emergency medical care was urgently needed at Yarmouk camp, which lies on the outskirts of Damascus. The ICRC has not had access to Yarmouk since October 2014. "The ICRC is calling on all involved in fighting to allow the immediate and unimpeded passage of urgent humanitarian aid and to permit civilians who wish to leave the camp for safer areas to be able to do so at any time," it said in a statement.

Jury's next decision: Life or death for Boston bomber? Posted: 09 Apr 2015 01:04 AM PDT Convicted in the worst attacks on US soil since 9/11, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev faces a new court date with the same jury, which now must decide if the Boston Marathon bomber must pay for his crimes with his life. Tsarnaev faces either life in prison or the death penalty, after a jury unanimously convicted him Wednesday of carrying out the worst attack in the United States since the 9/11 hijackings. He now faces life in prison without parole or even the death penalty when he is sentenced by the same jury at the second phase of the trial, which could start early next week, Judge George O'Toole told the court. Survivors, including the parents of eight-year-old Martin Richard who was killed in the attacks, crammed into the gallery to hear the verdict as a strict security cordon was set up outside in the biting wind and sleet.

Sweden to send troops to Iraq to support fight against Islamic State Posted: 09 Apr 2015 12:31 AM PDT Swedish government said on Thursday the Nordic country will send armed forces to Iraq to support the operations against Islamic State fighters after a request from the Iraqi government The government said 35 Swedish troops would be sent to form part of the international forces in northern Iraq, helping to train Iraqi forces who are battling the insurgents. Sweden will continue to support to these common efforts", Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom and Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist said in a signed article in daily Dagens Nyheter.

France's TV5Monde Taken Off Air by Pro-ISIS Hackers Posted: 08 Apr 2015 09:00 PM PDT The hackers took down the channel for three hours overnight, and posted pro-ISIS messages on its website and Facebook pages.

Throwback Thursday: When Brian Williams Was Editor of His High School Newspaper Posted: 08 Apr 2015 09:00 PM PDT The anchor, currently on suspension from 'NBC Nightly News' for exaggerating his experiences during the Iraq War in 2003, was editor at Mater Dei's school paper before graduating in 1977.

A Long-Anticipated Revelation Reinvigorates The Americans Posted: 08 Apr 2015 08:02 PM PDT There have been times during season three of The Americans when it seemed like the writers, stuck on where to go next, were giving themselves a dare: Figure out what horrible crime Russian spies Philip and Elizabeth Jennings haven't committed, and then add it to the script. Despicable activities are, of course, staples of the so-called golden age of television, and most of the brutality on The Americans is the same stuff that viewers have cheerfully lapped up on Game of Thrones and The Sopranos. This isn't a new observation, and The Americans does seem to understand that it functions best as a domestic drama and psychological study. For so long, Philip and Elizabeth's relationships with key characters have remained static, defined by deception.

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